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I will be travelling to Dubai from USA in a few days. I am an Indian citizen but I work in USA on the work visa. I recently got my UAE visa done online using an Indian travel agency. The place of issue on my visa says "Mumbai" since that is where the travel agency is based, but I have not physically been to Mumbai to get the visa done (its just an online visa).

Should I be concerned about any problems at Dubai immigration because of the place of issue on my visa document?

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    "Citizens of India who are valid visa holders or residents of the United States, or who are residents of the European Union, are eligible to obtain a free 14 day visa on arrival." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates). - You wouldn't have needed a visa...
    – mdd
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:31
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    It wasn't clear to me that folks on the H1B could get the visa on arrival. On the UAE official website and on the emirates website, it says Indians need a USA "visit visa" to avail the visa on arrival. The H1B isn't a visit visa.
    – 4titude
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 22:39
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    @4titude indeed, I suspect that the language on the UAE government website is sloppy, since they seem to equate "US visit visa or green card" with "UK and EU residency." It's certainly better to be safe than sorry.
    – phoog
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 23:44
  • @phoog agreed. and yea, didn't want to risk it. read some stories online about people with H1B having trouble with the VOA
    – 4titude
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 0:27
  • This is strange, on my visa it says place of issue Dubai, and I live in Kuwait. You can verify the visa details online at www.amer.ae
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 5:26

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There is no concern about place of issue for your visa. UAE will be completely uninterested in that. (How would they know you've never been to Mumbai, anyway?).

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    Thanks - that's a relief. I figured the immigration officer could see the travel stamps on my passport and know that way.
    – 4titude
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 22:40
  • @4titude people always worry about that, and it almost never happens. But if it does, you can simply tell the truth. There's nothing wrong with having an agent in Mumbai handle your visa application for you.
    – phoog
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 23:45
  • Thanks. Yea, that's mainly what I was wondering and glad to hear this is legit.
    – 4titude
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 0:29
  • @4titude People travel all over the world. They don't care where your visa was issued, as long as it is genuine.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 16:53
  • @4titude Additionally, if for some reason they do care about where your visa was issued, they'll just care about the country, not the exact place within the country. All they'll care about in this case is that the visa was issued in India.
    – gparyani
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 18:39
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While you never went to Mumbai, the agent who issued your visa never left Mumbai (at least not for issuing your visa). In times of telecommunications, it is perfectly possible for the issuing to take place at a different place than where you are, in particular if there is no such thing as a mandatory "face check" in the process. And it can be assumed that the UAE are aware of this technology.

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This would be no different from applying for a visa from a country where there is no consulate or embassy. The application is then handled through a consulate or embassy in another country by mail, and they're the one issuing the document.

They want the place of issue mentioned so it's easier for them to contact that specific office in case they need more information during the customs process, which means less inconvenience for everyone involved (including you, as it may affect your time waiting), not to make your life harder.

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The place of issue is about the passport/visa, not about you.

It is normal to have a different place of issue. But the place of issue is important to verify the visa/passport: it tells which authority has delivered it, so it is easier to check in case of problem (or unreadable parts). This was important on past, where someone should check in archives the documents (one do not want to call all embassies and authorities to know about visa [or getting from central authority based on the number, the issuer]). Now that all is centralized in a database, there is less need of such data.

Note: it helps also for plausibility: if the issuer of visa is far away (maybe a now closed embassy) or from a place where falsified document are common, an extra check is done.

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